Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1887-07-07
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, JUNE q, 1881

1nC PiOSChV ootAhSNAASy az sAss AAHS>ASI
market will be afforded relief particu-
larly in New York and Chicago, where
it is most needed by the action of Sec
retary Fairchild on Saturday. The
secretary telegraphed to all assistant
treasurers ordering the payment OF
July interest, checks and coupons upon
presentation. ficst, of the interest
checks for this quarter have already
been mailed to the persons to whom
they are due. The remaining ones will
be sent early in the week. The result
of this step will put in circulation
about Sg,OO0,OO0. When the secretary
of the treasury on u former occasion
took similar action, his authority for
so doing was questioned, but then as
now, a national necessity must make
the law. Secretary Fairchild. however,
states that the interest was not antici-
pated on account of any financial ap-
prehension by the government but as
the checks were made out, the sending
of them a few days before the first of
July, would cause no inconvenience ut
the department and would tend to re-
assure the public.
A party of Japanese officials, and
their interpreter have arrived in
Washington and will remain a month
or two. Their purpose is to carefully
study the workings of several branches
of our government. Chiefly the sub
ject of finance. The person of most i'm
portance in the party, is a high officer
in the financial department Of the Jap
anese government. They have taken
comfortable suite of apartments in
house on the heights Of Georgetown.
The large pension paid to the blind
begger of Elmira, N. Y, turns out to be
bogus claim. Special agents of the
pension office have already succeeded
in tracking the parties who conspired
to defrand the government, and in trac-
ing the money SO that the United
States will lose but little of the original
$4,000. The old blind man will also
lose but little, as he probably saw but
little of the money in the first place,
but he may have to go to the peniten-
tiary for haying been the ignorant
tool OF the lot of sharpers who got the
case through. Undoubtedly he will be
more comfortable in the penitentiary
than he was on the street begging with
his dog.
There is growing belief here that
an extra session of congress in Oct, is
an assured fact. Speaker Carlisle is re-
ported as having said that an extra
session of congress is a necessity. But
it is not safe to put much faith in re-
ported sayings of Speaker Carlisle. as
he Is generally very non-commital.
A rumor was current here on Satur-
day that Secretary Endicott had tend
cred his resignation on account of the
battle flag episode but at the white
house the rulnor was denied. Wash
| ington is always full or rumors even in
the dullest season. Sometimes they
mature into great events, but oftener
fade into thin air.
The secretaries of the local civil
service boards, met the civil service
commissioners, according to agreement
in this city on the Gath, inst. Several
important questions were discussed,
and several amendments to existing
rules recommended. OF these, the one
suggesting the discontinuance of the
forty-five year Limitation, as to the age
of clerks Will be almost universally en-
dorsed by the public. Most men and
women are at the heigth of tn cir ca
pacities at the age of forty-fve. 1t is to
be hoped that this discussion will re-
suit in the beneficial result of separat-
ing the chatf from the wheat of civil
service examinations. There is un-
doubtedly much good in the system,
but it is not necessary to waste too
much time in experiments, but to
learn the lesson taught by experience
as quickly us possible, and exclude such
questions as the following Immediate
ly without further demonstration of
their folly. "a man bought twenty
lead pencils Tor four cents, for one PEN
Gil he gave two cents, for three he gave
a half cent, and for one he gave a
quarter of a cent, what did he give for
the others?" "Draw a straight line
westward from the state of Maine to
the Pacific Ocean and name the states,
mountains, lakes and rivers, you would
cross" Pencils are cheap, but they
will never be cheap enough to demons.
trate the utility of the first question
and the second is impracticable as it
would involve the personal tour across
the continent which it is natural to
suppose an applicant for a position un-
der civil service rules has not the
means to undertake, or he would not be
before the board for $500, probation-
ary place.
The president met Mrs. Cleycland at
the depot on Saturday morning at nine
o'clock. Mrs. Cleveland arrived in the
best of health and spirits accompanied
by Col. Lamont. She expressed herself
enthusiastically over her visit to her
friends in New York. She probably
will accompany the president to Phila-
delphia in September when he goes tc
take part in the constitutional conven.
tion celebration. The president has
also been invited to the Indiana Agri-
cultural state fair, but has not yet de
cided to attend.